SCIENTISTS CONSIDER CREATING A HUMAN-MOUSE HYBRID

SAN FRANCISCO, November 28, 2002 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A group of American and Canadian scientists are considering whether to create a human-mouse hybrid with which to advance stem cell technology aimed at curing diseases. The researchers want to test various lines of human cells by injecting them into a living animal. “For ethical reasons,” the New York Times explained, “the test cannot be performed on people.”  However, the result would be what scientists call “chimeras” – organisms that are mixtures of two kinds of cells—with human cells blended into their body. Though the creatures would most likely turn out to be mice with a few human cells, and could be “an enormously important experiment,” says Dr. Irving L. Weissman of Stanford University, if the process goes awry it could be “too horrible to contemplate.”  For New York Times coverage see:  https://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/27/science/27CELL.html